Love is like a drug
by notsure2010
Summary: What if Garrett Fairfield wasn't a killer, and he wanted Maura back?  How would Jane react?  Will she let her jealousy get the better of her?
1. Chapter 1

"So, what do you want to eat tonight? Pizza?" Jane grinned at her friend with a hopeful smile on her face.

"Pizza, again?" Maura whined just a teensy bit, just as Jane had known she would.

"We haven't had pizza since–"

"Monday, Jane. Two days ago."

"Well, how about Bucky's? We haven't been there since last week."

"Burgers? Jane, I cannot keep eating like this! You might be able to stay skinny no matter what you eat, but I am going to get fat pretty quickly eating pizza and hamburgers every day."

"Are you kidding me? You look perfect, you don't need to worry about your weight at all."

"No, Jane, you don't need to worry about your weight. I'll have you know I've put on five pounds since we've started—" Maura paused just in time before she finished her sentence, and corrected herself. "Since we've been eating out so much."

She had almost said _dating_. She quickly began rummaging through papers on her desk, hoping that Jane hadn't noticed the blush creeping across her cheeks.

Jane didn't seem to catch on to her friend's embarrassment, and continued trying to persuade Maura to accept her choice for dinner. "Okay, they have salads at Bucky's. You get a salad and I'll have my usual."

"Have you ever had a Bucky's salad? I think the last one I ate there had been in the back of the fridge for a couple of days, the lettuce had clearly been frozen."

"Okay, that's gross. So Bucky's is out. Maybe we should just cook something, if we can't agree on a place."

"Ugh." Maura wrinkled her nose. "I hate cooking, especially after a long day at work. The last thing I want to do after an autopsy is stand over a stove."

"Well, let me make you dinner then. I had a slow day today, I don't mind."

Maura looked dubious, and squinted at Jane, shaking her head slightly. "You can cook?"

"Of course I can cook, I'm Italian, aren't I? I know just what I can make for you, and if we stop at the store there can even be salad, with never-been-frozen lettuce."

"How come I've never heard about your culinary skills before today? How do I know you aren't just teasing me, and trying to trick me into ordering pizza anyway?"

"Maura, I swear, I can cook for us! I wouldn't tease–"

Maura cut her off with an indignant look. "Please, don't even say you wouldn't tease me. You tease me all the time!" Jane put on her most innocent look, so Maura swept by her on her way out from behind the autopsy table and smacked her lightly on the arm. Jane responded by poking her in the stomach and then jumping out of reach before Maura could retaliate.

"I'm not teasing about this, I swear! C'mon, let's get out of here, I'm starving." She held the door open with a grand gesture. "M'lady, your dinner awaits."

"So you can cook, huh. What else do I not know about Jane Rizzoli?" Maura smirked as the two women got into the elevator.

"Oh, many things, Dr. Isles. Many, many things." Jane's voice was low and almost seductive, but then she giggled playfully and poked Maura in the stomach again.

Maura felt a little flutter somewhere inside of her, and it wasn't just because the elevator had begun its jerky ascent to the main floor.

* * *

"So, do you admit that I can cook now?"

"Oh, Jane, absolutely. That pasta was fantastic." Maura settled into Jane's couch, still holding her glass of white wine. "I can't believe I didn't know that you could cook. Did your mother teach you?"

"Yeah, I had to help in the kitchen a lot when I was growing up. Frankie can cook too, if he wants to. I told my mother that if I had to cook, so did he. Amazingly, she agreed with me. I think it's the only thing we've ever agreed on." Jane laughed, and then got a mischievous look on her face.

"So, now that you know I can cook, what's something about you that I don't know? Do I get to know one of your secrets?"

Maura looked thoughtful for a minute. Then she sat up, pushed her hair away from her face, and said, "Watch this." Then she wiggled her ears.

Jane looked at Maura incredulously. "Okay, that's cool, but you're going to have to give me more than that."

"I can wiggle one at a time, see?"

Jane laughed and put her hands on either side of Maura's face, covering her ears and stopping her little performance. "No, no, you have to do better than that. Something like . . . old boyfriends. Real secrets."

Maura playfully pushed Jane's hands away. "Old boyfriends? Really? That's what you want to know about?"

"Yep. I want all the juicy details."

Maura sighed. "Well, there aren't really any juicy details because I haven't had many serious boyfriends. In college I dated a guy for about a year. His name was Garrett, we met at a fraternity party, he had blond hair, and . . . really straight, white teeth."

"Those are the only details you can think of? You dated him for a year—it must have been pretty serious."

"I was 20; everything felt serious. Actually, I was pretty much head over heels in love with him. You know when you're so in love, it feels like you took some kind of substance? That's the way it was with Garrett. Sometimes I still miss him, even now."

"So what happened to him?" Jane's voice softened, as she realized that this was actually a difficult subject for Maura to talk about.

"Oh, you know, we broke up. It just wasn't meant to be, I guess."

"Oh, no, he broke your heart, didn't he? Maura, sweetie, I'm so sorry." Jane put her arm on Maura's shoulder.

"No, I broke up with him actually. We just weren't . . . compatible."

"What do you mean—he didn't like science?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Well, come on, tell me. What was wrong with the guy?"

"I don't want to say, it's embarrassing."

"Don't tell me, you diagnosed him with some sort of weird-ass disease."

"No, this was before med school, so I hadn't made the mistake of diagnosing friends and dates yet."

"So . . ." Now Jane shoved Maura's shoulder, just a bit, hoping to get her to continue.

"Fine, Jane, if you must know, he was . . . kind of selfish."

"Selfish, like, he wouldn't share his french fries with you?"

"No, a different kind of selfish." Maura paused and looked down at her hands for a second, before looking Jane in the eye.

"I had to . . . fake it . . . with him."

Jane's eyes got wide and she nearly snorted wine up her nose.

"You mean, fake it, fake it?"

Maura nodded.

"All the time?"

"All the time."

"The whole year you dated, you never had an orgasm?"

"Nope."

"Wow. I can't believe you stayed with him a whole year."

"I really didn't know what I was doing back then, and I didn't want to discuss it with him. I had never been with anyone else before him, I was pretty clueless—"

"Wait a minute, Maura, you _can't lie_. You hyperventilate if I try to get you to stretch the truth just a tiny bit so that we can trip up a suspect. How could you fake orgasms . . . for an entire year?"

"I don't know, I was just really nervous about it, and I didn't know what else to do!"

Jane shook her head. "Do you, uh, still have to fake it now?" Jane couldn't believe she was asking that question, but she looked Maura in the eye as she said it.

And Maura stared right back at her, meeting her gaze evenly. "Oh, I know how to ask for what I want much better now, thank you very much." A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, but she didn't look away or drop her eyes.

Jane smiled back, with a goofy grin, suddenly finding that she was having a hard time concentrating on anything except Maura's eyes.

It was Maura who finally looked away. "So now do I get to hear about your first boyfriend? Shall we continue this little game of secrets?"

Jane groaned. "I guess I had this coming. The story of my first time is much more embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than a year of faked orgasms?"

Jane laughed. "Well, maybe not more embarrassing, but it's just so cliché."

"What do you mean?"

Jane rubbed her face with her long fingers. "I wasn't the prettiest girl in school, as I'm sure you can imagine—"

"As I can imagine? You're gorgeous now, I can't imagine that you were anything less in high school."

Jane looked wide-eyed at Maura again. "You think I'm gorgeous?" she said, softly.

Maura tried to cover her tracks. "Of course, everybody does!"

"Everybody?" Jane shook her head, like she was trying to understand, but decided to just go on with her story.

"Well, in any case, I was already 5 foot 10 by the time I was fourteen so not too many guys were interested in me. By the time I was a junior in high school I think I'd been on two dates, and they were both disasters. So then this new guy moved into the neighborhood, and he was really tall, and pretty good looking. So when he asked me out I got this idea in my head that he was "the one," and so when he started . . . you know . . . pushing things I didn't want to say no. We ended up in the back seat of his car, parked behind some bushes just off the interstate. It was over before I knew it."

"Oh, Jane, that's awful. That's not the way your first time should be."

"Well, apparently neither was yours! I didn't even bother to fake it though, and I doubt he cared. That was the only time we went out. The worst part of it was he didn't use a condom, and I was terrified for almost an entire month that I was pregnant. I went to church and prayed so much, and lit about a thousand candles at the Virgin Mary altar that my mother got suspicious and she ended up dragging the whole thing out of me. Thankfully I wasn't pregnant, and my mother had the sense not to tell my dad, and things turned out okay."

Maura put her hand on Jane's knee, in what she hoped was a sympathetic gesture. "So, was your second time better?"

"Oh, no, Dr. Isles, you aren't getting another sex secret out of me tonight. That's it, the vault's closed." She held up her hands in a way that left no room for negotiation, but then continued, in a low voice, "Unless, you want to tell me at least two more of your secrets . . ."

"Hmm, maybe that's enough secrets for today." Maura smirked a bit, and finally removed her hand from Jane's thigh. "I should really be going anyway. We're running tomorrow morning, remember?"

"How did I ever let you talk me into training for a marathon? I really _hate_ running."

"Now, Jane, you are always happier after a run, you know that."

"Yes, that's what you tell me anyway." Jane sighed as Maura got up off the couch, but then she got up too and walked her friend to the door.

Maura had her hand on the doorknob, but she suddenly stopped and turned around to face her friend. "Thanks so much for dinner, Jane, it was really nice." She leaned in on her toes and placed a soft kiss on Jane's cheek, and then ran her hand down Jane's arm and squeezed her hand. "Thanks for being such a great friend."

Jane felt dazed at the softness and intimacy of Maura's touch, but she managed to stammer out a reply. "You're welcome, it was fun. Thanks for coming." Maura didn't let go of her hand immediately, though, and they just stood there in the doorway for several seconds. Finally, Maura smiled and reminded Jane again about running in the morning, and then she was gone.

Jane replayed that moment in her head about a hundred times that night, and about a thousand times over the next several weeks, cursing herself for not taking things a step further, for wasting the perfect opportunity.

How was she to know that there would be no running the next morning, and that the only man Maura had ever been in love with, would suddenly be back in her life?


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli & Isles_.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews on chapter one, and I hope you like chapter two!

Chapter 2

The call about the body came just as Jane and Maura were warming up for their run. As soon as they got to the dock where the harbor police had dropped off the body bag, Maura unzipped it, took one look at the man inside, and immediately turned pale.

Jane looked at her friend with concern.

"What's the matter, Maura?"

Maura took a deep breath. "It's Adam Fairfield."

The name didn't mean anything to Jane, but she could tell Maura was quite upset so she bent down next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, oblivious to who might be watching. "Did you know him?"

"Adam Fairfield, as in the Boston Fairfields. He's one of the Boston Brahmins."

Jane still didn't see why this should matter so much to Maura, so she gripped Maura's shoulder more tightly and repeated her question. "Maura, did you know him?"

"Jane. He's Garrett's brother, so yes, I knew him."

"You mean, Garrett, who you dated in college? He was a Fairfield?"

Maura just nodded.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Jane let her hand graze Maura's thigh while the ME continued to inspect the body, squeezing it lightly as she asked her next question.

"Do you want to go with me when I notify the family?"

Maura immediately turned a shade paler. "No." Then she swallowed hard and continued. "But I will. I owe them that."

On the car ride back to the station Maura was quiet, so Jane tried to make small talk just to fill the silence while she drove.

"Why didn't you tell me last night that Garrett was a Boston Brahmin? That _you_ could have been a Boston Brahmin?" Jane's tone was—she hoped—light and playful, and she gently shoved Maura on the shoulder with her free hand.

Maura bristled at the question, despite Jane's attempt at playfulness. "I didn't think it mattered."

"Well, since most every guy I've ever dated had parents who worked on the docks or in a warehouse, it would have mattered to me."

Maura stared out the window, leaning her head on her hand. "We tend to date people from our own social circles, I guess."

Jane let that sink it for a second before continuing. "Are you telling me that your parents have as much money as the Fairfields? They've got to be millionaires!" Jane's voice rose in volume despite her attempt to stay calm.

"Billionaires, actually." Maura didn't take her gaze away from the scenery outside her window, but she knew that Jane had turned her wide eyes away from the road and was staring at her. "But no, my parents don't have nearly that kind of money. They have met at a couple of social functions though. His parents and my parents, I mean."

"Wow. I had no idea. I mean, I knew that you weren't buying your designer dresses on an ME's salary, but, wow."

Maura responded with silence. Jane suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and somehow embarrassed of her own modest background. She chewed her lower lip, while in her head she heard Maura saying, _we tend to date people from our own social circles_. As they neared the station, still in silence, Jane found herself getting defensive, and she didn't stop herself from asking the next question that popped into her head.

"So, what are you doing slumming down here with us then?" She turned toward Maura with a half smile, instantly regretting her words as she saw Maura's head snap to the left and felt her eyes boring into her skull.

"Is this really the time for this discussion, Jane? How can you even ask me that? You know I love my job."

Jane immediately melted. She pulled into a parking spot behind the station, apologizing profusely.

"You're right, I'm so sorry, Maura. I'm just being an idiot. C'mere." She wrapped her arms around Maura, who stiffened at first but then rested her head on Jane's shoulder. Jane squeezed her tighter and rubbed her back.

"Are you sure you want to go with me to see the family? You seem pretty upset."

Maura pulled away and took a deep breath. "I really need to do this. I'll be fine, don't worry." She opened the passenger door and climbed out of the car, and Jane followed her into the police station.

* * *

As she and her partner, Frost, drove to the Fairfield estate with Maura in the back seat of the sedan, Jane worried. She worried that Maura would let her emotions get the better of her, compounding her usual awkwardness in social situations.

As it turned out, Jane was right to be worried. But for all the wrong reasons.

The Fairfield estate was enormous, but when Jane expressed her amazement at its size, Maura coolly told her that their castle in Scotland was much bigger.

_Castle in Scotland? And how does she know that it's bigger?_

Throughout their interview with the family, Jane was distracted. She was carefully watching the body language of Adam Fairfield's wife and Sumner, the third of the Fairfield brothers, since they would of course have to be considered suspects. But she was also watching Maura's body language, which was turning out to be far more interesting.

Jane was astonished to discover that Maura's social awkwardness—a trait she found to be quite endearing—was conditional. In the world of the Boston Homicide department, Maura seemed either goofy or a little stuck up, and always slightly ill at ease. But among the portraits of Boston's First Families and the priceless colonial furniture, Maura fit in perfectly. Jane watched as Maura transformed herself from chief medical examiner into a sympathetic socialite. She said all the right things to the family, and the ease with which she squared her shoulders and held her head high spoke volumes about how at home she was in this world.

Meanwhile, Jane had never felt more out of place. Even Frost, an African-American descendent of people that the Boston Brahmins once referred to as cargo, seemed less self-conscious than Jane, whose only way of coping with her insecurities was to stick her thumbs in the pockets of her pants—to make sure the badge on her hip was plainly visible—and pretend that she was simply disgusted by the family's wealth rather than intimidated by it.

As they began questioning the family, Jane quickly realized that she and Maura had completely different ideas about the purpose for their visit. Jane was ready to jump into the case, and she began pushing for information despite the tears on the widow's face and the attempts at distraction by the family's lawyer.

But Maura accepted the situation in stride, clearly only there to offer condolences rather than do her job. Instead of helping Jane ask the questions, she only gave apologetic looks to the family and tried to tone down Jane's words—words that Jane had used in other similar cases dozens of times.

Jane felt something burning inside of her, in the pit of her stomach, like she was losing control of the situation at the same time as she lost her best friend.

Then, while they were dealing with the lawyer, Jane heard Maura whisper to her, "There's Garrett." She gestured toward a doorway at the opposite end of the room.

Jane refused to let the emotions roiling within her show, so all she said as she looked at Garrett was, "I thought you said he was blond."

Maura shrugged. "He was when we dated." Then her eyes locked with his, and before Jane could say anything else she was walking across the room, touching his arm, and pulling him into a close embrace.

The fire burning in the pit of Jane's stomach began to spread.

It threatened to erupt a few hours later when she strode into the morgue, her thumbs hooked in her pants pockets again and a noticeable scowl on her face. She didn't even say hello to Maura before she began to pick a fight.

"Why are you doing the autopsy on a Sunday? Did they cancel all the kundalini, pulau, riku yoga classes?"

"Kundalini is sacred energy work, pulau is a savory rice dish, and I'm pretty sure you made that last word up," said Maura, with just the slightest tone of mockery in her voice. She continued her work without looking up at Jane.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not as educated as you and your deluxe friends—thanks for the support with them, by the way." The sarcasm in Jane's voice was unmistakable.

Now Maura looked at Jane, resigned that this was going to turn into an argument. She decided not to tip-toe around the matter, and just say what she meant. "Their brother just died, I'm sorry I couldn't just let you stand there and badger his family."

Jane was hurt, but the look on her face just came off as defensive and incredulous. "Badger? Is that how you describe how I do my job? And since when do you rush the science?"

"I'm not rushing anything." Maura shook her head.

"You're scrambling to finish out the autopsy."

Now it was Maura's turn to get defensive. "The governor called, he would like the reports right away."

Jane turned to sarcasm again. "Of course he did, did you have a nice chat? Maybe tonight you could attend the opera with some senators and then afterwards go out on the verandah and smoke big rolled up wads of hundreds."

"These people are not the enemy." Maura's voice was steady and even, despite Jane's obvious distress.

"Yeah, neither was Columbus, tell that to the Native Americans he killed with smallpox."

"The Fairfields helped build this city!"

"My grandfather was an ironworker, _he_ helped build this city."

Maura paused and studied Jane's face. This was clearly about more than just the autopsy. "Okay, so what are we arguing about here, history? Or are you just mad at me for who my friends are?"

Jane backtracked, not willing to let her insecurity and jealousy show. "This is about work, okay, I've just never seen you hugging suspects before."

Now Maura raised her voice, but just slightly. "We don't even know what happened here—if this was an accidental drowning, there are no suspects."

"So, you're hoping it's an accident?"

"Are you hoping it was a murder?"

"I'm doing my job, like I always do—why don't you do yours?"

"I am." Maura's tone was smooth and forceful. "And as the medical examiner, it is my job to determine the cause and the manner of death, so I'll tell you whether there's a case here, or not."

The two women stared at each other. Jane raised her eyebrows and nodded slightly, as she realized that Maura wasn't going to give in. Her eyes, which the night before had been so soft, so playful, so sexy, were now hard and focused. Finally, Jane sputtered out, "Maybe I'll just figure it out for myself."

Jane stalked out, but by the time she got back to her desk she felt horrible, and decided she should go back and apologize.

This time when she walked into the morgue she softened her body language and promised herself that she wouldn't get defensive.

"I'm sorry, Maura, I'm sorry again. I shouldn't have talked to you like that, I know it's hard when your work and your personal life are all mixed up—"

Maura softened too, but then looked curiously at Jane. "Do you mean, _our_ personal life, or _my_ personal life?" She pointed to Jane, and then back at herself.

Jane gaped, astonished at how perceptive Maura's reply was. She knew her feelings for Maura were getting in the way of her work on this case, but did Maura know that too? She had no idea how to respond.

"I meant, uh, it's hard when you have a case dealing with someone you know."

"Oh. Of course." Maura looked at the body on her table, wrote something down on her clipboard, and then looked up. Jane was still standing there, watching her and looking nervous.

"I'm sorry too, Jane, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'll give you all the results as soon as I have them, okay?"

"K." Jane paused, chewing her lip again. "So, when you're done do you want to get some dinner? I won't even suggest pizza or Bucky's—we can go wherever you want."

Maura looked down at her clipboard again. "Actually, Garrett asked me to dinner tonight."

Jane felt her heart drop into her stomach, and she tasted acid on her tongue.

"So, really, you're rushing the autopsy for Garrett, not for me, or the governor."

"Jane."

"No, I understand. Just text me if you find anything. I mean, if your social engagements don't get in the way." Jane turned on her heel once again and strode out of the morgue. And, once again, she turned back. This time, she wasn't planning on apologizing. Instead, she said the most hurtful thing she could think of.

"You do remember why you broke up with this guy in college, don't you? Or are you thinking that now he's a brunette he'll be able to get you off?"

Jane laughed, but it wasn't playful. Maura closed her mouth, which had dropped open, and went back to her clipboard.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli & Isles_

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, as always!

Chapter 3

Maura's date with Garrett was like a dream.

One of those kinds of dreams where you can't figure out what's going on and you keep yelling at everyone but no one pays any attention.

The feelings she was having were so conflicted, so contradictory, she seemed to be losing control of the logical part of her brain.

When Maura first saw Garrett, and then spoke with him at the Fairfield estate, she felt all of the old feelings she had had for him come rushing back. Things with Garrett had been more serious than she'd admitted to Jane—the day after their college graduation he had actually flown her to the castle in Scotland and asked her to marry him. She had been so close to saying yes . . .

And now, here he was again. Although he seemed somewhat subdued—which was completely appropriate, considering the fact that his brother had just died—it was clear that he had matured substantially in the years they had been apart. He was running his own clothing company in Italy, he was a serious patron of the arts, and he was heavily involved in his family's charity work.

When he looked her in the eye and told her how beautiful she was, and how much he had missed her, she felt her heart pounding and a smile crept involuntarily across her lips.

Then she felt guilty. As though somehow this was unfair to Jane. Even though she and Jane had never had any sort of conversation that would indicate that their evenings together and their shameless flirting and touching constituted a relationship, it still felt like a relationship. Maura had given Jane so many opportunities to take things a step further . . .

But could Jane be blamed for not doing anything? Why had she assumed that Jane would have to be the one to make the first move?

Somehow Maura managed to keep up her end of the conversation with Garrett while continuing her own internal dialogue, but then Garrett asked something about the investigation and Maura refocused her attention.

"So, what's the story with that butch detective? She seems rather unpleasant—do you have to work with her often?"

Maura was stunned at Garrett's description of Jane but she didn't let her reaction show, simply feigning surprise. "You mean Detective Rizzoli? Jane? We work the same cases, so I work with her almost daily. She is an excellent detective—one of the best in the department. You just caught her on an off day, we actually work well together."

"Really? You surprise me, Maura."

"In what way, Garrett?" Maura felt herself bristling a bit.

"Well, you were always so . . . refined. I guess I never pictured you rubbing shoulders with cops and detectives. You know—they're beer and pretzels and you're wine and cheese."

Maura was quiet for a moment, as she tried to figure out if Garrett was being condescending, or just honest. He looked at her steadily and the expression on his face seemed open rather than patronizing so she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Yes, that's true. But just because our personal lives are quite different doesn't mean that we can't work together professionally. I actually consider Detective Rizzoli to be one of my best friends. Even if she does try to get me to drink beer sometimes. And even if her idea of fine dining is pizza you eat with a knife and fork instead of your hands."

Garrett laughed good-naturedly at that comment, and Maura smiled at him. He changed the subject, and Maura returned to her thoughts and worries about Jane.

She realized that when Jane had confronted her about Garrett and his family, she had defended him. Then when Garrett had been less-than-kind in his attitude toward Jane, she had defended her.

Of course, Jane had taken a very personal, private detail of her relationship with Garrett—a detail that she had never revealed to anyone else—and twisted it for no other purpose than to insult her, to cut her. Jane was so emotional, so unpredictable.

No one had ever made Maura so angry.

But no one had ever made her so happy.

It was all so very confusing. And Maura hated to be confused.

By the time they finished with dessert, Maura had come to the conclusion that in her current state of emotional distress, she couldn't make a decision about what to do about either Garrett or Jane. She would have to give it time, and then she could make a rational, logical choice.

When Garrett asked her at the end of the evening if she would like to go out with him again, she said yes.

* * *

Once Maura gave her official report on Adam Fairfield's death and ruled it a homicide, Jane threw herself into the case with all the energy she had. She and Frost recruited the help of Korsak, Jane's ex-partner, and after two weeks of combing through Fairfield financial records and watching hours of security tapes, they discovered that Adam had recently confronted the family's lawyer about money that had been mysteriously disappearing from bank accounts he had access to. From there, it was only a short step to find the hit man the lawyer had hired to kill Adam and make it look like he had died in an accident at sea.

Jane was busy with the case, but she did try, clumsily, to make up with Maura. She brought a package of novelty chocolate, containing tiny gold flakes, down to the morgue one day as a peace offering. Unfortunately, Maura thought Jane was making fun of her and her deluxe friends—after all, Jane had just accused Maura of smoking rolled up wads of hundreds with the mayor. The idea of eating 24-carat gold chocolate did seem a little ironic, Jane realized in retrospect. She wanted to make sure Maura knew that she was amenable to reconciliation though, so after the chocolates flopped she sent flowers and a short, "I'm sorry," card.

Maura thanked her sincerely for the card and the flowers, and when the two women worked together things almost seemed normal between them. They even went to lunch together a couple of times, although usually Frost or Korsak tagged along too, and they mostly talked about cases.

There were no dinners, no movies, no evenings at the Dirty Robber. No inside jokes, no playful teasing, no tantalizing touches with fingers lingering just a little too long.

Jane had a horrible ache in her heart, but she tried to distract herself with work. Maura was always in the back of her mind, but she knew that she had to give her some space. Her only hope was that with time, things would go back to normal, and then maybe she would be able to tell Maura how she really felt. That is, if Garrett didn't get in the way.

The first Friday after they had solved the case and dealt with the guilty lawyer, Jane's lieutenant told everyone in the department that there would be an important announcement made at 5:30 that afternoon so everyone had to stay late. Jane stayed at her desk until 5:15 or, when her phone rang. It was Maura.

"Jane, can you come down to my office for a minute?"

"Can this wait? We have a meeting in a few minutes."

"I know, I'll be at the meeting too. But I wanted to talk to you first."

"About what?"

"Jane, I want to apologize to you but I don't want to do it over the phone. Can you please just come down here?"

Jane's heart pounded. _Maura wants to apologize to me?_

"Okay, I'll be right there."

She had never run down the stairs to the morgue so quickly in her life.

The woman waiting for her there, standing in front of the autopsy table with her hands clasped together and a hopeful smile on her face, was a vision. She was wearing a simple black cocktail dress, held up by just the thinnest straps on her shoulders, and three-inch heels. Nestled just above her cleavage was a diamond necklace, and matching earrings dangled from her ears.

Jane skidded to a stop in front of Maura. She knew she was staring inappropriately, raking her eyes from Maura's breasts to her stomach to her legs and then back up again, but she seemed to have completely forgotten how to behave rationally.

Maura noticed how Jane was looking at her, and a slight blush rose in her cheeks, so she tried to be playful to cover it up. "What do you think? I just bought the dress yesterday, and the jewelry was passed down to me from my grandmother."

Somehow Jane managed to speak. "Wow, Maura, you look amazing. That is a really great dress."

For a second, Jane wondered if maybe, just maybe, this dress was part of Maura's apology.

"So, what is all of this? I believe you mentioned something about an apology?" Jane gave what she hoped was a goofy, and not just needy, smile.

"Yes." Maura took a deep breath before continuing. "Jane, you were right, I was letting my sympathy for the Fairfields, and my feelings for Garrett, get in the way of my job. I didn't want to believe anyone in the family would purposely hurt Adam, and my judgment was clouded. I should have taken myself off the case, or at least admitted to you what I was feeling. So, I'm sorry."

Maura took a step toward Jane, and put her arms around her in a tight hug. Jane could hardly breathe, but she slipped her arms beneath Maura's in response to the hug, placing her hands on the bare skin of Maura's shoulders. Maura shivered at the touch, and then quickly pulled back a bit, leaving her hands on Jane's shoulders, and looked Jane in the eyes.

"Are we friends again?"

"Of course, Maura, I'm sorry too. After everything you had told me about Garrett, I'm afraid I didn't have a very high opinion of him, and I wasn't exactly unbiased in my judgment either. I just don't like that guy."

A shadow crossed over Maura's face. "He's really not so bad. He's pretty great, actually." Maura looked down at her feet as she continued.

"We've been going out, the last couple of weeks, you know."

Jane felt like someone had just pumped ice water into her veins. "No, I didn't know." She took a step back.

_She definitely didn't wear that dress for me._

"Actually, he's coming by in a few minutes. He wanted to thank everyone in the department for catching his brother's killer, and he's making an announcement. Then we have an event to go to."

_I don't think she has any idea how I feel about her. How this is affecting me_.

"An event?"

"A fundraiser, for one of the family's charities."

_She's going to charity galas while I'll be getting hammered at the Dirty Robber._

"Oh, for one of the family's charities. Of course." Jane felt as though her brain had been reduced to mush and she could only lamely repeat what Maura told her.

"Yes. We should probably head upstairs?"

Jane followed Maura numbly into the elevator, and made a beeline for her desk once the door opened. Maura hovered nearby, while Frost and Korsak whistled at her and complimented her outfit. Then the glass doors opened and a parade of police officers and city officials came in, along with Garrett Fairfield.

Jane barely heard the announcement—Garrett spouted off a highly polished speech about his gratitude to the Boston Police Department for finding his brother's killer, and then handed a check for some absurd amount of money over to the chief of police.

_She's so out of my league, we shouldn't even be friends, let alone . . . anything else. What was I even thinking?_

After the applause died down, Garrett shook a few hands while people milled around, and then finally walked over to Maura, who was standing just a few feet away from Jane's desk. Maura put her arm through his and smiled as he whispered something in her ear, and they slipped out of the room with the department's lawyers and the city's muckety-mucks trailing after them.

_She apologized and said, let's be friends, but what she really meant was, I choose him._

Maura turned her head to look at Jane as they were walking away. She smiled, waved her fingers as a goodbye gesture, and mouthed, "See you Monday." Her eyes and her smile were kind, but Jane's heart was already broken.

Jane sat at her desk in a daze, until Korsak came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you coming over to the Dirty Robber with us?"

Jane rubbed her face with her hands, trying to shake off the horrible sick feeling washing over her.

"Yeah, I'm just finishing up some things here and I'll be over in a bit."

The office was still emptying out, so Korsak bent down and said in a low voice, "Hey, kid, it'll be okay." He squeezed Jane's shoulder lightly, and then followed his colleagues out the door, leaving Jane alone in the office.

She slumped forward, arms on her desk, forehead resting on her hands.

_I'm so in love with her I feel like I've been drugged_.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles_

A/N: Loving the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 4

Korsak hated watching Jane lose it every other minute.

He thought that after being partners with Jane for nearly eight years, he would know all of her moods—but this was new. Any little thing might set her off—bad coffee, misfiled notes, a petulant suspect—but she was just as likely to sit at her desk for hours doing paperwork without saying a word to anyone.

Jane had never managed to do paperwork for more than 30 minutes in a stretch without some sort of distraction, from paper football to practical jokes to donut runs.

Korsak suspected that she was merely pushing papers around on her desk while listening to chick music on her ipod.

He also suspected that she was drinking way too much in the evenings.

So when he made an exciting discovery that he knew could help Jane, he threw professional ethics out the window and texted her to meet him at the coffee shop immediately.

"What's up, Korsak?" Jane sat at the table across from him, looking tired but resigned to whatever crazy conversation her former partner absolutely had to have with her. "What's so important you had to drag me over here for?"

"Just hear me out, okay Jane?"

"Yeah, whatever, out with it."

"You know how I've been helping out Jeannie with the surveillance?"

"You mean, how you've been getting free coffee and blondies to sit here on your ass all day?"

"Her till's consistently short, and I'm trying to help her figure out what's going on!"

Jane smiled half-heartedly. "Okay, so?"

"Promise me you won't tell anyone what I'm going to tell you next."

"Fine, Korsak, will you hurry it up?"

"Okay, I decided to bug a couple of the tables so that I could sit around the corner by the men's room where no one could see me, so I could still hear what was going on."

"Korsak! Is that even legal?"

"Who cares? It's not like we'll be going to court over this, and besides, I found out some things that might interest you!"

Jane looked frustrated and confused. "What are you talking about, Korsak? What could possibly interest me about this?"

Korsak beamed, excited that he could finally share his news. He leaned closer to Jane and whispered, "I overheard a pretty interesting conversation between Maura and Garrett just an hour ago."

Now Jane definitely looked interested. "What? What do you mean, interesting?"

"He's going to Italy tomorrow, did you know that? He has to take a business trip or something, and he's going to be gone for ten days."

Jane looked frustrated again. "So? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Don't you see, Rizzoli, this is your chance! While he's out of the picture, you can try to make things up with Maura!"

Jane put her face in her hands. "Korsak, it's over. She's already chosen him. I know I haven't been any fun to work with lately and you would like me to snap out of it, but this isn't the way. She's with him now."

"There's more, Jane."

"What? He's going to be gone eleven days? Because that one extra day would be enough for me to win her back?"

Korsak grimaced at Jane's sarcasm. "Listen, I wrote it down because I knew you would want exact details. Garrett said, 'are you sure you don't want to stay at my place tonight, so we can have a proper goodbye?'"

"Ew, Korsak, I don't want to hear this—"

"Just listen, Rizzoli! Then she said, 'Garrett, we've talked about this. I told you I'm not ready yet. I don't want things moving too quickly.' Then he said, 'Maura, we've been going out for almost a month,' and she said, 'I know, thank you for being patient, we'll talk again when you get back, okay?'"

Jane stared at Korsak. "Were they saying what I think they were saying?"

Korsak just nodded.

"So, if they haven't . . . then maybe I do have a chance?"

Korsak nodded again and smiled broadly.

"Korsak, you're my hero." Jane jumped out of her chair, planted a kiss on Korsak's forehead, and headed for the exit. She got all the way to the door before turning around and sitting back down across from her former partner.

"Wait, Korsak, I can't just run over to the morgue and beg for her to dump him for me—I have to have a plan. How am I going to do this?"

"Hey, I got you this far, but for the rest I think you're on your own. You know what kind of stuff girls like—flowers and candles and all that shit."

"But there's no way I can compete with Garrett in the romance department. He's probably already given her diamonds or rubies or something, and it's not like I can even give her champagne and caviar. I can't take her to galas or regattas or any of that."

Jane looked as though she were about to give up again, so Korsak prodded her a bit.

"So just be yourself. You two got along just fine doing regular stuff, like beers and the Dirty Robber and . . . whatever else you did. Maybe she's tired of all the hoity-toity stuff now."

"Yeah, maybe." Jane looked thoughtful for a minute. "Regular stuff, huh."

Jane jumped up again, and headed back to the precinct and down to the morgue.

* * *

"Hey, Maura."

"Hi, Jane." Maura looked up from her laptop, and briefly met Jane's eyes before she turned back to the screen. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was bored upstairs and I just thought I'd come down and say hi."

"Oh, okay." Maura smiled brightly, but it seemed a little forced.

"You busy or anything?"

"Not really, things have been kind of slow."

"Yeah, it's been slow upstairs too."

"I would imagine so."

Jane sighed and decided to throw caution to the wind. "Wow, I think this conversation is more boring than the paperwork I was doing." She laughed a little, hoping to get a smile out of Maura.

It worked.

Jane felt a familiar tingle just looking at Maura's little half smile, and it made her bold.

"Listen, Maura, I miss doing stuff with you. I know you're with Garrett and you're probably busy, but if there's ever some night that he's busy or if you're bored, we should go out for drinks or dinner or something." Jane hoped she didn't sound too pathetic.

But Maura seemed genuinely pleased at Jane's words. "Of course, Jane! I've missed doing things with you too. I've even missed beer, believe it or not."

"Really?"

"Really. And, it just so happens that Garrett has to go out of town for a few days. Maybe we could go to the Dirty Robber tomorrow night? You never really finished teaching me how to throw darts."

"I seem to remember that you were getting pretty good at darts, actually, and you probably don't need any more lessons, but yeah, the Dirty Robber tomorrow sounds great."

It was remarkable how quickly Jane and Maura fell back into their old routines. By the end of their evening drinking beer and playing darts, conversation came easily again, and laughing even more so. The next evening Jane suggested bowling with Frost and Korsak, and since that was another middle-class sport that Maura had never been exposed to, Jane had to teach her.

And that meant lots of touching.

If watching Jane for the tenth or twelfth time put her hands gently on Maura's waist to guide her into the correct approach position made Korsak or Frost uncomfortable, they didn't say anything. In fact, when Maura got her first strike and Jane swept her into a congratulatory hug, Korsak just grinned and winked.

Jane was glowing.

And, for that matter, so was Maura.

The next night, Jane made sure that neither Frost nor Korsak, or anyone else, was invited.

Jane asked Maura to come to her place for dinner again, promising even better Italian food than she had made previously. Maura agreed readily, and showed up promptly at eight with dessert and a bottle of wine.

The wine disappeared quickly, but as it turned out, they never got to dessert.

As soon as the dishes were cleared away, both women sat together on the couch—again, easily falling into old routines and sitting much more closely than was actually necessary.

They were both quiet though, until Jane looked Maura in the eye and said, in a soft voice that nearly cracked with emotion, "Maura, I've missed you so much."

Maura returned Jane's gaze, staring into her warm brown eyes. "Aw, Jane, I've missed you too." Then, without really thinking about it, she put her hand on Jane's cheek, stroking the soft skin of her neck with her thumb.

That was all the encouragement Jane needed. Without taking her eyes away from Maura's, she grasped her hand and then leaned in for a soft kiss. She pulled away, just an inch, so she could feel Maura catch her breath. Then she closed her eyes and leaned in again.

This time, she pressed her tongue against Maura's bottom lip, and felt herself moan at the contact with such incredible softness and warmth. Maura opened her mouth to allow Jane entrance, and Jane returned the favor as she pushed Maura further back into the couch.

When Jane broke the kiss she immediately began exploring the silky skin of Maura's neck with her lips and tongue while Maura seemed to struggle to catch her breath. Jane felt long fingers snaking through her hair, grasping at her neck and pulling her closer and closer. She moved her mouth lower, to Maura's collarbone, sucking at white skin while her hands moved first to Maura's waist and then upward.

"Don't stop, Jane, please, don't stop—"

Jane obliged, until her tongue found its way between the impossibly soft spot between Maura's breasts, and her fingers brushed against nipples that she could tell were already hard, even encased in two layers of fabric. She moved her mouth back up to Maura's again, kissing her so hard that Maura squeaked and panted, while she fumbled at the zipper of Maura's dress, trying desperately to get it off but becoming increasingly distracted by the fingers that were now exploring her abdomen and slowly moving lower, to her hips, hooking into the waistband of her panties—

"Oh, god, Maura—"

Then the phone rang.

"Shit," muttered Jane, as she felt Maura stir beneath her, clearly planning to answer her phone. She pulled away, trying to make her eyes refocus.

Maura looked at the phone. "It's Garrett."

Jane pleaded with Maura with her eyes. _Don't answer it_.

"Hi Garrett."

"I'm fine, I'm just at Jane's having dinner."

"Yes, Jane's a very good cook, she made beef bourguignon and it was wonderful."

Jane began kissing Maura's neck again.

"Last night? Last night I went bowling with Jane and two other detectives."

Jane put her hand under the hem of Maura's skirt and began caressing her thigh.

"I didn't do too badly, no."

"Yes, tonight's just the girls. Lots of girly things."

Jane moved her fingers higher, as Maura shifted and opened her legs just a little bit wider . . .

"Pillow fights? No, no pillow fights."

"Jane!" Maura screamed, as Jane bit down on her shoulder and pinched her thigh.

"Oh, sorry, Garrett, Jane just . . . hit me with a pillow . . . she heard me say pillow fight."

"Okay, yes, I'll call you in the morning? Okay. I miss you too. Bye."

"Jane! What are you trying to do to me?"

"I believe that's fairly obvious, Dr. Isles," growled Jane as she leaned in to capture Maura's lips again.

Maura pushed Jane away, groaning in frustration.

"I can't do this, Jane, I just can't."

"Maura, why not? Why did you choose him? It's clear you have feelings for me—"

"I know, I do, but—"

"But, what?"

"But we just don't make any sense, Jane! I mean, there are reasons why we choose particular mates—"

"Why we choose _mates_?"

"Yes, and Garrett just makes a lot more sense as a mate for me."

"Why, because he's a man?"

"Yes, and no . . . I mean . . . we're just a lot more alike, he and I."

"But we get along so well—I've never had a friend like you before, Maura."

"A friend, yes, but does that mean it has to go further? Why can't we just be friends?"

"Because . . . we've been making out here on the couch for the last twenty minutes?"

"I'm sorry, Jane—"

"No, Maura, don't tell me again how it doesn't make any sense. I know it's not logical. Love just isn't logical. I guess they don't teach you that in medical school."

"Love?"

"Yes, love. I love you Maura. Don't you know that?" Jane took Maura's chin in her hand so that their eyes could meet, and she hoped the depths of her love were showing in her eyes. But then she remembered all of the other lost opportunities, and realized that she had to tell Maura exactly how she felt, she couldn't just count on Maura understanding her without clear, precise words.

"Maura, I don't just love you as a friend. I'm _in love_ with you. You know, when you're so in love with someone it feels like you took some kind of substance? That's what I feel for you. I know you said that you once felt that way about Garrett, but how do you feel now? Right at this moment?"

Jane kissed Maura again, pouring every ounce of passion that she had into it.

Maura responded with a quick intake of air and another squeal before tangling her fingers in Jane's hair again.

Maura eventually broke the kiss but didn't pull away, just whispered into Jane's lips. "I feel . . . I love you too, Jane." She sucked on Jane's lower lip, running her tongue along the inside of Jane's bottom teeth, gasping for breath.

"But . . ."

"Don't say but . . ." Jane tried to kiss her again, to stop her from talking, from thinking.

"I'm so confused . . . what about Garrett—"

Jane pulled away, putting her hands on Maura's shoulders. "That's not a name I want to hear right now."

Suddenly, Maura stood up, straightening her dress. "I'm sorry, Jane, I'm going to have to think about this some more—"

"Please, stop thinking, Maura! Please, just . . . just . . . try to feel this!" Jane stood up next to her and grabbed her hand, not wanting to lose contact, but Maura pulled away.

"I don't know if I can do that, at least not tonight. It wouldn't be fair to Garrett, anyway."

Jane tried to pull herself together, realizing how pathetic she must look, practically groveling at Maura's feet asking her to stay.

"Okay, whatever Maura."

"I'm sorry, Jane."

"I know. Me too."

Maura slipped out the door and was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles_

Chapter 5

It was almost 11 pm, and Maura had been lying in her bed staring at the ceiling for nearly two hours. She was trying to meditate the overwhelming emotions coursing through her mind and body away, but nothing was working. Tears pricked at her eyes and she felt panic rising in her throat, wondering if she would ever feel calm again.

Calm.

_I feel calm with Jane_.

With that thought, Maura got out of bed, grabbed the overnight bag that she always had packed and stowed under her bed, threw a jacket on over her pajamas, and left the house.

Within 20 minutes she was knocking softly at Jane's door, wishing she had called first. The two women had barely spoken for the last week, and she realized she didn't have any idea what Jane might be doing on a Saturday night. All she knew was that she had to see her.

After two soft knocks with no response, she rapped a bit harder.

"Jane," she said softly, "it's me. It's Maura."

The door finally opened, and a sleepy-looking Jane, wearing a tank top and sweat pants, opened the door.

Maura didn't even wait for the door to open all the way; she just pushed her way in, dropped her bag on the ground and threw herself into Jane's arms, grasping the other woman as if she were afraid of being blown away.

"Hey, Maura, what's wrong?" She felt Maura sob, and pulled her tighter. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay."

Jane managed to extricate one of her arms from Maura's grip and shut the door, but then she just stood and held Maura for several long minutes before finally breaking the silence.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong? Does this have something to do with Garrett?"

This only made Maura sob harder, which sent Jane into a panic. She grasped Maura's shoulders and pushed her away so that she could look at her face.

"Did he do something to you? Did he hurt you? Tell me, Maura!"

Maura shook her head, and took a deep breath. "No, nothing like that. Please, Jane, I . . . I just don't know what to do, about him, about you, and I need a friend right now."

Maura's face screwed up tightly again, as she broke down into fresh tears. It was all she could do to choke out, "And you're my only friend!"

Jane wrapped the distraught woman in her arms again, making small shushing noises.

"It's okay, Maura, it's okay. Of course I'm your friend. I'll do whatever you need."

"Can we just go to bed? I mean, can we just go to sleep? I feel like I haven't slept in days. Just hold me until I go to sleep?"

"Of course. Come on, let's go." Jane peeled off Maura's jacket and hung it up. Maura slipped off her shoes and they both walked into the bedroom, hand in hand. Maura immediately curled up into the spot where Jane had just been sleeping, where the sheets were still slightly warm and where Jane's scent still lingered. Jane walked around to the other side of the bed and crawled in beside her, curling her long limbs around the smaller woman.

Maura seemed to relax immediately, and Jane felt her breathing and heart rate slow down over the course of just a few minutes. She was asleep before the tears had dried on her face. Jane stayed awake for awhile, listening to her breathing and wondering what in the world she was going to do.

* * *

Jane woke up feeling disoriented. It was still dark outside, the clock on the nightstand read 5:23, and there was a hand on her ass.

Maura's hand.

Jane had turned over in her sleep and now Maura was snuggling up behind her, running her fingers up and down the curve of her ass, her hip, the back of her thigh. Jane felt arousal flood through her immediately. She felt herself smiling, and willingly giving in to it, and then remembered the reason why Maura was in her bed fondling her ass. Or, rather, remembered that she still didn't know why Maura was in her bed.

She turned over to face her friend. She found Maura grinning at her rather seductively.

"Maura, what are you doing?"

Maura continued to explore Jane's backside with her fingers. "I believe that's fairly obvious, Jane. You have an amazing ass."

"Maura—"

Jane wasn't able to finish her thought, before Maura interrupted her by saying, in a low whisper, "I want you to fuck me, Jane." She leaned in and kissed Jane's neck.

Jane was so shocked—and so aroused—that she couldn't say anything.

"I want you to make me come." Maura launched an assault on Jane's mouth with her own, and Jane felt herself drowning as Maura's tongue slid inside, bringing exquisite warmth and softness—

"Maura, I can't, please, we can't." Jane pulled away, her heart breaking a little as she heard Maura whimper. "You have to tell me what happened, what this means."

Maura lay back on the pillow, looking as though she might start to cry again. But she went ahead and answered Jane's question.

"Garrett came home from Italy two days ago. As soon as he got home he wanted to . . . he wanted me to spend the night. But . . . I couldn't concentrate, or, I couldn't let go of . . . everything. And I had to fake it again."

Both women were silent for several long moments, as Jane finally connected the dots.

"So you came over here to see if I could . . ."

Maura interrupted. "No, I mean, I was really upset and so confused, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to see you, so I came over. But then after I slept for awhile I woke up and watched you sleeping, and then I thought maybe sex would be a good idea, that it might help me figure out what I'm really feeling—like you said, the other night?"

Jane put her arm around Maura and sighed into her shoulder.

"Maura, believe me, there is nothing, _nothing_ I would rather do than take possession of this gorgeous body of yours and make you come over and over again. But I think you know that this is not the way this should happen. When it was over, you'd wake up in a couple of hours and remember that I'm still over-emotional and irrational a lot of the time. I make lots of mistakes and I run my mouth off and say really stupid things. Sometimes really hurtful things. I'll still be a homicide detective who works horrible hours and never has any money. I'll still wear clothes that are out of fashion and I'll never be able to dress you up and take you to charity balls or art galleries."

"He's still the safe choice, Maura. We would always make an awkward couple—two women, both so different. When you're with him, everyone will talk about how great you are together, and how your children will be so beautiful."

"I hate seeing what this is doing to you. I hate that you have to make this decision. I love you and I want you, but . . . not this way."

Maura was silent for a few moments, and when she spoke again her voice was quiet but clear and strong. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No." Jane put her arm around Maura's waist. "I want you to go back to sleep. I think you need to sleep for a long time. And I'll be right here beside you for as long as you want me to be."

Maura didn't get out of bed until nearly 1 pm the next day. Luckily it was Sunday, and both women's phones were blissfully silent.

When Maura did finally wake up, she found Jane sitting on the bed next to her watching TV with the sound turned off. The Sunday paper was spread out at her feet.

"Jane, how long have you been awake?"

"Oh, since 9 or 10. I took a shower and got the paper, but I wanted to be here when you woke up." She smiled softly at Maura and patted her on the arm.

"You aren't mad at me?"

"No, of course not. Are you feeling better now that you've slept?"

"Much better. Thank you for staying with me."

"No problem. But, I am glad you're up because I'm starving. Do you want to take a shower and then get some lunch?"

"Only if we can go to Bucky's."

"Really? You aren't just saying that? Because I could murder some of their garlic fries right about now."

Maura stretched like a cat and smiled. "Sounds perfect."

* * *

They had polished off the garlic fries and Jane was trying to convince Maura that she needed a slice of double-chocolate mud pie when Maura's phone rang.

"It's Garrett."

Jane swallowed. "You should answer it. He's probably wondering what's happened to you."

"Hi, Garrett."

"Everything's fine, I'm out to lunch with Jane."

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't sure what your plans were for today. Do you want to join us here? We were just thinking about ordering some dessert."

"Okay, we're at Bucky's downtown. Just two blocks west of the station. See you in a few minutes."

Maura put down the phone. "I hope it's okay with you that I asked him to come here, Jane. You were right, he was wondering where I was."

"Sure, it's fine. Do you want me to leave?"

"No! Of course not. I want you to order the mud pie and then give me a couple of bites."

Jane grinned. "Oh no, you aren't one of those girls that says they don't want dessert but then eats all of their date's are you?"

Then Jane's face fell, as she realized that she wasn't Maura's date, Garrett was.

Maura tried to cover the awkwardness with a giggle. "Okay, I'll get my own. But pretty soon I'll get fat and then I won't have any dates at all."

The mud pies had just arrived when Garrett walked in. He strode over to their table and sat down next to Maura after leaning in for a kiss.

Maura looked embarrassed, but she accepted the kiss and then looked down at her pie.

"What in the world is this place, Maura? Some sort of police hangout? It looks a little sketchy."

"Garrett, aren't you going to say hello to Jane?"

"Of course, sorry Jane." He extended his hand across the table and Jane shook it, looking extremely uncomfortable. She didn't say anything about the sketchy comment, not wanting to make a scene, but her dislike for Garrett was strong enough that she felt the muscles in her face go rigid.

Garrett looked around at the other tables in the restaurant again, and then turned to Maura and said, "Why don't we get out of here, and go find some real dessert somewhere else. Maybe the Café Côte d'Azur? You're welcome to come too, Jane, if you would like to." Then Garrett took out his wallet, as though he were going to leave some money to cover the check.

Suddenly, as Maura looked across the table at Jane, and then back at Garrett, everything became clear.

She didn't want to go to Café Côte d'Azur. She wanted to eat her mud pie with Jane. It was that simple. _Why did I make this so complicated?_

"Garrett, there's something I need to tell you. And put your wallet away, we are perfectly capable of paying for our own meal."

Garrett looked a bit shocked, and so did Jane.

"Maura, what's wrong?"

"Garrett, I don't think we should keep seeing each other."

"What?" Garrett looked at Maura, and then at Jane, clearly embarrassed. "Is this really the time you want to bring this up? You're causing a scene."

"A scene? Believe me, for Bucky's this is not a scene."

"Well, are you going to explain why you don't want to see me anymore?"

"Because I'm in love with someone else." Maura looked straight at Jane as she spoke, staring into her eyes.

Garrett didn't seem to notice.

"What? Who are you in love with?"

"Jane. I'm in love with Jane."

Garrett's jaw dropped.

"You're in love with a dyke detective? Are you kidding me?" Garrett looked first at Maura, then at Jane, and then back at Maura again.

"How dare you call her that, Garrett! You don't even know her. Jane is the kindest, most amazing person I've ever known." Maura turned away from Garrett to look into Jane's eyes again. "She makes me laugh like no one else can. She lets me cry on her shoulder. She taught me how to play darts and drink beer . . . and . . . she loves me. More than that, I think she's teaching _me_ how to love."

All Garrett could say was, "Darts and beer?"

"Yes, Garrett, I've already told you, _I like beer_. And now I'm telling you that I love Jane, and I would really like you to leave so that I can eat this mud pie with her, because it looks really good and I think it's melting."

"Maura, are you crazy? What in the world will people think?"

Jane couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Hey buddy, no one cares. I believe that my girlfriend has asked you to leave. Weren't you the one worried about causing a scene?"

Garrett stood up, and took one more look at Maura.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm completely sure. I'm sorry that I told you this way, I probably could have been a bit more tactful. But sometimes love makes you do crazy things." Maura grinned at Jane, and Garrett just shook his head.

"Oh, wait, Garrett, one more thing." Maura gestured for Garrett to lean in so that she could say something quietly to him.

"I don't want to make a scene, like you said, but you really should know that every time that we had sex I faked the orgasm. You might want to work on that with your next girlfriend."

Garrett turned beet red and walked out of the restaurant.

"That was really mean, wasn't it," said Maura, looking at the grin on Jane's face.

"Yep. It was. But I loved it."

"Me too."

"Want to go home and go back to bed?"

"Definitely. Well, after I finish this pie."

**The End**

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this story—it was fun to write! Thank you to all who read, and especially those who left reviews!


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